National Business

TORONTO — Canadian businesses owned by Indigenous women have been steadily growing, but that progress is being threatened by COVID-19 and other systemic barriers, say researchers behind a new study.

CITY OF HARTWELL, Ga. — Pet food manufacturer Nestle Purina will invest $550 million to expand a recently completed factory in northeast Georgia, with plans to expand its workforce to a total of 370.

MONTREAL — Printer and packager Transcontinental Inc. saw its profits drop by more than half in the fourth quarter on lower revenues, but its performance was still better than expected.

CALGARY — If internet search trends are a window into the minds of consumers, then a recent report suggests that a growing number of Canadians are considering some ill-advised financial options, observers say.

WASHINGTON — U.S. consumer prices edged up 0.2% in November as a rise in the cost of energy and a number of other goods offset a drop in food costs. The gain in the consumer price index followed a flat reading in October and matched the 0.

PARIS — France’s data privacy watchdog said Thursday it has fined Google 100 millions euros ($121 million) and Amazon 35 million euros ($42 million) for breaching the country’s rules on advertising cookies.

TORONTO — Ontario will allow restaurants to permanently sell alcohol with food takeout and delivery as it makes changes to support the industry through the pandemic. The province announced the change Wednesday night along with other relief measures.

A new report calls for Ottawa to provide financial support to help the freight transportation industry to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the purchase of zero-emission vehicles and charging stations.

SINGAPORE — A Royal Caribbean “cruise to nowhere” was cut short and the ship returned to Singapore on Wednesday after an elderly passenger was diagnosed with the coronavirus, but the Health Ministry later said new tests on the man were negative.

TORONTO — The Canadian auto sector has been slowly recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, though employment is still down nearly 13 per cent in the third quarter from a year ago, according to a report by DesRosiers Automotive Consultants Inc.